[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 987 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 987
Expressing gratitude on behalf of the people of the United States to
the journalists and news staff who are risking injury and death, are
subject to grave threat, and have sacrificed their lives, to chronicle
and report on the ongoing war in Ukraine resulting from Putin's
invasion.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2022
Mrs. Hinson (for herself and Mrs. Bustos) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing gratitude on behalf of the people of the United States to
the journalists and news staff who are risking injury and death, are
subject to grave threat, and have sacrificed their lives, to chronicle
and report on the ongoing war in Ukraine resulting from Putin's
invasion.
Whereas Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991,
and that independence was reaffirmed in a popular referendum on December
1, 1991;
Whereas, on February 24, 2022, the Russian military invaded the sovereign
country of Ukraine under the direction of the President of the Russian
Federation Vladimir Putin, carrying out attacks on cities with ballistic
missiles, heavy artillery, and tanks;
Whereas the Geneva Conventions' Protocol I includes the Protection of Victims of
International Armed Conflicts, prohibiting attacks on civilian persons
and populations, and defines journalists and war correspondents as
civilians;
Whereas the Russian Federation was an original signatory to the Geneva
Conventions, until Putin removed the Russian Federation from Protocol I,
which protects civilians, in October 2019, demonstrating a clear
disregard for innocent life;
Whereas, as of March 15, 2022, a total of 691 civilians, including children, are
recorded as having been killed during the Russian Federation's invasion
of Ukraine;
Whereas journalists and news staff are on the ground in Ukraine reporting
freelance and for global networks and media, and are working on
documentary efforts to record the ongoing humanitarian crisis and war
caused by Putin's invasion of the sovereign country of Ukraine;
Whereas many of the journalists and news staff covering the war in Ukraine are
American citizens or working for American news agencies;
Whereas indiscriminate shelling by Russian Federation forces has gone so far as
to shell humanitarian corridors, maternity hospitals, schools, and other
primarily civilian locations;
Whereas journalists and news staff are on the ground along Russian-targeted
humanitarian corridors and in major cities across Ukraine;
Whereas dozens of members of the free press have been murdered or injured by
Putin's forces as of March 15, 2022, with more casualties and injuries
likely;
Whereas, on March 1, 2022, Ukrainian-based journalist and camera operator
Yevhenii Sakun was killed when Russian forces shelled a television tower
in Kyiv, Ukraine;
Whereas, on March 13, 2022, American documentarian and film director Brent
Renaud was shot in Irpin, Ukraine, and later died of his wounds;
Whereas, on March 15, 2022, Ukrainian Fox News journalist Oleksandra Sasha
Kuvshinova was killed in Horenka, Ukraine, when her vehicle was struck
by incoming arms fire;
Whereas, on March 15, 2022, Irish Fox News cameraman and photographer Pierre
Zakrzewski was killed in Horenka, Ukraine, when his vehicle was struck
by incoming arms fire;
Whereas, on February 26, 2022, Danish journalist Stefan Weichert was shot and
wounded while reporting near Okhtyrka, Ukraine;
Whereas, on February 26, 2022, Danish journalist Emil Filtenborg was shot and
wounded while reporting near Okhtyrka, Ukraine;
Whereas, on February 28, 2022, British Sky News chief correspondent Stuart
Ramsay was shot and wounded when his car was ambushed by Russian
soldiers in Kyiv, Ukraine;
Whereas, on February 28, 2022, British Sky News camera operator Richie Mockler
was shot and wounded when his car was ambushed by Russian soldiers in
Kyiv, Ukraine;
Whereas, on March 13, 2022, American journalist Juan Arredondo was shot and
wounded while reporting in Irpin, Ukraine;
Whereas, on March 15, 2022, American Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall was
wounded when his vehicle was struck by incoming arms fire in Horenka,
Ukraine;
Whereas, on March 6, 2022, Swiss journalist Guillaume Briquet was wounded and
robbed by Russia soldiers who shot at his car on the road to Mykolaiv,
Ukraine;
Whereas it is possible that additional Ukrainian and foreign press have been or
will be injured and killed so long as Putin's forces continue their
brutal attack on civilians;
Whereas all civilians, including journalists and news staff, should be spared
violence by military forces;
Whereas Putin and his cronies have demonstrated complete disregard for innocent
life, Ukraine's sovereignty, the right to free speech, and the rights
and value of a free press;
Whereas Putin is engaged in a propaganda war, as well as a military war, and the
Russian Federation continues to push a false narrative about their
presence in Ukraine;
Whereas the United States supports a free and fair press and rejects any and all
propagandist efforts by the Russian Federation to cover up and hide the
truth behind Putin's invasion;
Whereas journalists and news staff on the ground in Ukraine who are reporting
the truth to the world, including American journalists and news staff,
are instrumental in combating false propaganda pushed by Putin and his
cronies; and
Whereas despite the overwhelming threat and risk to their lives and the
sacrifices already made, journalists and news staff continue to report
bravely from Ukraine: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) declares its gratitude on behalf of the people of the
United States to the journalists and news staff who continue to
put themselves in harm's way to report on the humanitarian
crisis and ongoing war on the ground in Ukraine following
Putin's invasion;
(2) remembers the journalists and news staff who have lost
their lives or been severely injured reporting from Ukraine,
and conveys the sympathies and appreciation of the people of
the United States to their families for their sacrifice;
(3) condemns Russian President Putin, Belarussian President
Lukashenko, and their officials for authorizing and executing
attacks on innocent Ukrainian civilians, residential areas, and
humanitarian corridors, resulting in the loss of life of
civilians, including journalists and news staff; and
(4) honors the contributions of journalists and news staff
reporting from the war in Ukraine as essential in the ongoing
struggle for the rights of a free press and free speech
internationally, pivotal in pushing back against false
propaganda by tyrants, and crucial to informing Americans and
the world of the horrors being wrought against the Ukrainian
people.
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